Uninstall unwanted programs

How Unwanted Programs Build-up

The more you use your computer, the more programs you accumulate. Whether you buy the software at the local computer store or download programs from the Internet, it doesn’t take long for you to have a collection of programs that contains both desirable and undesirable programs.

For example, if you were in the market for money management software you might have downloaded several trial versions of competing products as well as a few free money management tools before finally deciding on a particular program. While you may be completely happy with your chosen product, those other programs are taking up disk space and are no longer wanted.

In some cases, these programs may even be auto-loading with Windows startup which gobbles up system resources unnecessarily. In addition, if your computer’s hard drive is filled with unwanted programs, your computer will have fewer hard disk resources and perform slowly as a result.

Always Use the Programs own Uninstaller First

Removing unwanted programs isn’t difficult and your computer will be healthier as a result. Take the time to clean out the junk and free up valuable system resources by uninstalling these unwanted programs. The preferred method is to use the unwanted program’s uninstaller utility if one is available. While Windows comes with an uninstall tool, the theory behind using the program’s uninstaller is that the program’s developers will have programmed the uninstaller to remove all traces of the program. Before removing an unwanted program using the Windows uninstall tool, look in the program’s folder for an uninstall feature. If one is available uninstall the program using it.

Force the Uninstall with Windows Add/Remove Programs Tool

If the unwanted program does not have an uninstaller, go to your computer’s Control Panel and launch the Add and Remove Programs tool if you have Windows XP. If you have Windows Vista, this tool has been renamed Programs and Features. With Vista, simply type Programs and Features into the Search bar found in the Start button and click the icon when it appears. Once this tool has been launched, you’ll see a list of installed programs. Click on the unwanted program to select it and then click Remove (Windows XP) or Uninstall (Windows Vista). Follow the prompts to remove the unwanted program.

Windows Disk Clean-up Tool

You can also use the Disk Cleanup tool to remove unwanted programs. Typically, this tool is used for removing temporary files. However, its More Options tab has a feature that allows you to remove unwanted programs. This is basically a shortcut to the Add and Remove Programs utility though in Windows XP you can remove unwanted Windows features here if so desired.

Most of the time, uninstalling programs using these tools does the trick. Occasionally, remnants of the program are left behind in the Windows registry. If you have the skills and confidence to manually remove these remnants, you can go into the registry editor and delete them. However, this is a risky procedure that is not generally recommended. Even if your an expert, we always recommend regular registry backups. Not only is it risky, it’s difficult for average computer users to know where to look and which registry entries can safely be deleted and which cannot.

As a Last Resort - You can do a Brute Force Uninstall if the above solutions fail to do a complete removal. Here is such an uninstaller program.

Also see: Things to know about backing up your computer

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